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Marth (SSB20)
Marth is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 20. Marth was confirmed alongside , , and apart of the "Four Swordsman" release. Attributes Marth is emblematic of sword characters, making extensive use of disjointed hitboxes and his unique tipper mechanic. His attributes remain present; he has overall good mobility, sporting the fastest walking speed, an above average dashing speed, average air speed, above average air acceleration, moderate falling speed, and low gravity, along with average weight. Marth's playstyle remains fundamentally intact, being characterized by the properties of his sword, the Exalted Falchion. His attacks deal more damage and knockback if struck with the tip of the sword, encouraging and rewarding proper spacing. This is more clearly evident in moves such as his forward smash: when tippered, it is the third strongest forward smash in the game, while it cannot KO until well beyond 100% if not tippered. Being a sword-wielder, Marth has the benefit of disjointed hitboxes. Many of his moves have good reach, fast startup, and cover wide arcs, such as his up tilt and forward aerial. As such, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, where he can pressure and poke at the opponent without leaving himself open to punishment. Marth's special moveset has good utility. His neutral special, Shield Breaker, as implied by its name, is designed to break shields. It deals high shield damage, even when uncharged, and is useful for punishing rolls. Side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish sidesteps, and is an effective damage racker, dealing 15-20% if all hits connect. Marth possesses a Counter as his down special, giving him the capability to shrug off enemy attacks and return them with 1.2x the knockback, and is able to KO if a strong enough attack is countered, making it a good option against overly aggressive foes. Counter can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries. But up special is arguably his most potent: Dolphin Slash has quick startup, and provides intangibility frames during its startup frames, and is relatively strong when it first comes out. These attributes make it an excellent out of shield option and combo-breaker. It is also Marth's main method of recovery, as it grants a high amount of vertical height along with a bit of horizontal distance, and its speed can make it difficult to intercept, while it can stage spike reckless edgeguarders. Marth's disjointed range gives him a decent edgeguarding ability himself. His forward and back aerials have fast startup and good range, and are strong when tipped. Down aerial is relatively quick, and if it hits at the center of the arc (directly below Marth), it powerfully meteor smashes opponents. Forward smash's range makes it a good choice against opponents aiming their recoveries towards the ledge. Also, Marth's low gravity and only average falling speed allow him to maneuver effectively offstage. However, Marth also exhibits glaring flaws, largely as a result of his initial transition into Smash 20. As a result of his heavier reliance on tippers and spacing ability, he has a poor up-close game, giving him a hard time against rush-down characters, notably . Though his attacks have quick startup, many of them have high ending lag, with his forward smash being a notable case. His attacks also suffer from short hitbox durations. For example, his forward aerial, despite covering a wide arc in front of him, has a hitbox that lasts for only 3 frames, and comparatively high ending lag and noticeable landing lag, and along with its very small autocancel window, it is a surprisingly poor approach option. This combination of high ending lag on his moves and his requirement for careful spacing result in a lackluster neutral game, as none of his approach tools are particularly reliable or consistent, and this is exacerbated by his lack of a projectile. Not only does Marth struggle to win in neutral, but his conversions are weak and unreliable. Aside from having one of the fastest pummels in the game, his grab game is poor. His throws deal low damage and have high base knockback, making them poor for combos and damage-racking. Except for up throw, they have low knockback growth, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can KO only starting at 160%. As such, Marth has poor options against shields, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable. Marth's weak throws tie into his poor KO power. Furthermore, his tipper mechanic actually puts him at a disadvantage here, for his attacks are weak and do not generate much knockback if not spaced properly. Lastly, his edgeguarding ability is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the high ending lag on his aerials, with his down aerial suffering from roughly 45 frames of ending lag. Marth himself is vulnerable to edgeguarding. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable recovery option, but its path is linear and its distance is fixed making his recovery very predictable and easy to intercept. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to semi-spikes. Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, but it still covers little distance and has high starting lag. As a result, Marth will be in considerable peril if he is forced offstage without his double jump, since he is heavily reliant on it to mix up the timing of his up B. Despite having only average weight and falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox makes him easy to hit. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him helpless, it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. While Counter can be used against overly aggressive foes, a cautious opponent will find ways to bait it and punish accordingly. He also has little defense against juggling. His aerials' high ending and landing lag make them ineffective at relieving pressure, and are sometimes unsafe on hit if not tippered. verall, while Marth does have notable advantages in his tipper mechanic, reach, mobility, and the fast startup of his moves, his flaws outweigh his strengths, giving him a weak neutral game and making his punishes unreliable due to their inconsistency. And his playstyle is so overly centered on his tipper mechanic that it arguably hinders him as much as it helps. As a result of his issues, he has only average tournament representation and poor results. Moveset 'Taunts' *Up: Points his sword in the air, where it shines. Similar to his stance before performing a critical hit in Fire Emblem. *Side: Slashes his sword twice in front of himself, then sheathes it. *Down: Twirls his sword, then raises it in front of him saying "みんな、見ていてくれ", which is Japanese for "Everyone, look at me!" (same in Melee). 'On-Screen Apperance' *Warps onto the stage using warp magic with a twirl and unsheathes his sword. 'Idle Poses' *Holds chest and takes a breath. *Brushes hair out of his face. 'Victory Poses' *Sheaths his sword and says "今日も生き延びることが出来た", which translates to "Today I have survived." *Turns with pride, spins his sword then clashes it to the ground, and says "今回は僕の勝ちだね", which translates to "This time it's my victory, isn't it?" *Poses with his sword sheathed and his right arm out and says "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ", which translates to "There's no way I can lose!" In Competitive Play Match ups Alternate Costumes Trivia Category:Characters (SSB20) Category:Fire Emblem Universe